Shed Seven will return with their first album in more than six years when they release ‘A Matter of Time’ on January 12th 2024, via Cooking Vinyl. Coming as 2024 represents the band’s 30th anniversary together; the album is launched alongside today’s release of the new single ‘Kissing California’ as well as the confirmation of a headline UK tour for autumn 2023.
For ‘A Matter of Time’, Shed Seven’s core members – vocalist Rick Witter, guitarist Paul Banks and bassist Tom Gladwin – reconnected with the classic albums that first inspired them to form a band. The resulting record sparkles with the liberated exuberance and full-throttle rock ‘n’ roll attitude of a group who are making music for the sheer joy of expressing themselves and performing together. While the album broadens the Shed Seven sonic palette a touch, it’s full of the towering, arms-in-the-air anthems and yearning melancholia that fans have come to love them for.
The trio enlisted a new line-up for the album, calling upon drummer Rob ‘Maxi’ Maxfield (Audioweb) and keyboardist Tim Willis (Ian Brown). The album was produced by the Grammy Award-winning Youth (The Verve, Pink Floyd) at El Mirador Studios in Andalucia, Spain, before being completed by leading mixer Cenzo Townshend (Florence + The Machine, Inhaler).
Paul Banks says, “For this album, we took a nostalgic journey back to our roots, immersing ourselves in the records and sounds that ignited our passion for songwriting at the tender age of 12. The influences of bands like The Smiths, R.E.M., U2, Simple Minds, The Cure, and Duran Duran permeate every note, making it a heartfelt homage to those cherished times. It embodies the essence of rebirth, empowering individuals to embrace their true selves without inhibition. With utmost conviction, we declare this as the pinnacle of our musical endeavours – the record we’ve always yearned to create.”
Like numerous favourites from the Shed Seven back catalogue, the lead single ‘Kissing California’ is instantly addictive – this time with chiming guitars, sun-scorched melodies and charismatic vocals all contributing to its life-affirming positivity.
Rick Witter adds, “‘Kissing California’ is Shed Seven’s summer anthem. It’s essentially a celebration of being alive and grabbing the opportunity to paint the town red with someone special and have the best of times. It’s the medicine we all need sometimes.”
Listen to ‘Kissing California’ – BELOW:
Elsewhere, ‘A Matter of Time’ flows from adrenalised punky power-pop right through to epic slow-burners, complete with some special guests: Happy Mondays legend Rowetta contributing fervent gospel vocals to ‘In Ecstasy’, Laura McClure of Reverend & The Makers on the folky-pop of ‘Tripping With You’ and Peter Doherty, who duets with Witter on the dramatic closer ‘Throwaways’.
‘A Matter of Time’ is now available to pre-order or pre-save HERE. A wide range of physical formats are available, with exclusives for Amazon, Assai Records, HMV and select indie stories. A special bonus ‘A Matter of Time: Deep Cuts’ CD is only available with bundles purchased from the band’s official store, with options including a signed digipak CD, a signed dolphin-coloured vinyl, and a dual pink/green cassette.
Fans who pre-order ‘A Matter of Time’ from the band’s official store will receive access to a pre-sale for tickets for the newly-announced October 2023 UK tour. The pre-sale will open at 9:30 am on Wednesday, July 19th and will remain live until any remaining tickets go on general sale at 9:30 am on Friday, July 21st.
In the meantime, Shed Seven will play select gigs this summer, including a sold-out 6,000-capacity show at Millennium Square, Leeds, on July 15th and a headline set at Scotland’s Party At The Palace on August 12th.
The band’s newly-announced autumn UK tour dates are as follows:
OCTOBER 2023
19th – Cardiff, The Tramshed
20th – London, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
21st – Nottingham, Rock City
23rd – Stoke-on-Trent, Victoria Hall
24th – Wolverhampton, Wulfrun Hall
26th – Glasgow, The Barrowland Ballroom
27th – Middlesbrough, Town Hall
28th – Manchester, Albert Hall
Shed Seven emerged as one of the big hitters during the heyday of Britpop, their catalogue of classic singles leading to seven Top 20 hits, including ‘Going For Gold’, ‘Chasing Rainbows’, ‘Disco Down’ and ‘On Standby’ as well as four Top 10 albums. Their popularity has continued since reforming in 2007, with 2017’s ‘Instant Pleasures’ album debuting at #8 – their highest-charting record in eighteen years. The band’s subsequent sold-out shows have included Leeds First Direct Arena, the O2 Academy Brixton and Manchester’s O2 Victoria Warehouse.
‘A Matter of Time’ – album tracklisting:
‘Let’s Go’
‘Kissing California’
‘Talk of the Town’
‘Let’s Go Dancing’
‘In Ecstasy’ (featuring Rowetta)
‘Tripping With You’ (featuring Laura McClure)
‘Let’s Go (Again)’
‘Real Love’
‘F:K:H’
‘Ring The Changes’
‘Starlings’
‘Throwaways’ (featuring Peter Doherty)
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